the svea court of appeal in the early modern period 340 apply for apromotion (befordran) – the next step in their careers. They also use the term “tour”1015 and refer to years of service specifically as a ground of promotion. A consequence of the fact that the Councillors of the Realm formed one of the court’s classes in the seventeenth century was that anumber of judges were often absent from the court. The noble judges often had other engagements. For instance, vice president Olof Stråle’s name appears quite frequently, 22 times, in absentee lists from the autumn of 1615. It was however Gustaf Stenbock (1575 –1629), Councillor of the Realm and assessor of the first class, who held the record with 42 absences. The lists of absentees confirm that it was primarily the assessors of the first and second classes who missed court sessions.1016 The first class assessors, the Councillors of the Realm were sometimes all absent at once, which in 1636 gave rise to the question of whether the court even had a quorum.1017 Given that in the early years it was often the noble assessors who had studied and learned about state affairs – even abroad – it may have been a difficulty if many of them were not present. Stråle, for instance, was one of the few members in the first years of the court’s existence who had studied broadly at foreign universities and was familiar with the ius commune.1018 The irregular attendance of assessors did not end as the century progressed. Ernst Johan Creutz (1619 –1684), for instance, asked for leave from several sessions of the court so he could travel to his estates in Finland to see to his own affairs. This was no exception at the time. In the summer and around Christmas it was not unusual for only two or three assessors to be present. The Göta Court of Appeal experienced similar situations as the presidents of the court, all Councillors of the Realm, were often absent from the sessions as they were seeing to other administrative or diplomatic matters.1019 1015 See, e.g., Cavallin, Maria 2003 p. 79. 1016 RA, SHA, Matriklar och meritlistor, Huvudserie D VI a 1, vol. 1; Petrén, Sture 1964 pp. 97-98. 1017 Petrén, Sture 1964 pp. 98-99; Jägerskiöld, Stig 1964 p. 163. The royal Treasurer faced similar problems; see Roberts, Michael 1953 p. 270. 1018 Danielsson Peter 2007-2011; Petrén, Sture 1964 p. 61. 1019 Lappalainen, Mirkka 2005 pp. 166-172; Roberts, Michael 1953 pp. 266-267; ThunanA Professional Court? The Problem of Multitasking
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